The Campus Currents is distributed every
Friday. If you would like to include an item in
the newsletter send it to Campus Currents, Unit
9512 or by e-mail to Campus
Currents. Deadline is Thursday at 8 a.m.

The global awareness committee points out this quote from
Farai Chideya, from Time, Feb. 1, 1999, "One
thing bears remembering: every day America's heartland looks
more and more like New York and Los Angeles, not the other way
around."

Landis

Peterson

DeCory

Glover

Ahmad

Valades

Wallerstein

The panel discussions will be presented Jan.
31 at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. at the David B. Miller
Yellow Jacket Student Union multipurpose room.
Each session will include a question-and-answer
session.

The impact of the Latino culture on the
cultural/ethnic landscape of America

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the rhetoric
of race in America.

The public is invited to attend either session
at no charge. Refreshments will be served at the
evening session.For more information contact
Legia Spicer, BHSU global awareness committee
chair, at 642-6556.

Teaching with technology
faculty award winners meet with state legislators- Top

Faculty from all state
universities who received the governor's Teaching
with Technology awards this year met in Pierre
this week to discuss their projects and course
redesigns with state legislators.

The South
Dakota Board of Regents hosted the presentation
so that lawmakers could see the improvements
faculty made in integrating technology in their
courses and curricula. Through this competitive
grant program, faculty award winners increase
their use of instruction of students and mentor
other professors who wish to adapt their courses
with technology.

Two BHSU faculty members also facilitated
discussion topics with other faculty award
winners. Dr. Carol Hess led a discussion on using
internet technology to support interactive
learning in content areas and Dr. Betsy Silva
facilitated the discussion on the impact of
technology on student learning in health and
physical education.

Robert T. Tad Perry, executive director of the
board of regents, praised the program saying
"it has engendered a sense that the future
is here now and that we can beindeed, that
we will bea part of it."

Black Hills State is
seeking string players for a chamber orchestra- Top

Black Hills State
University band director Don Miller is interested
in establishing a community/university chamber
orchestra. Miller is currently looking for anyone
interested in participating, especially string
players.

An organizational
meeting for the chamber orchestra is scheduled
for Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m .in Cook Hall 204.
For more information contact Professor Miller at
642-6888.

High school seniors
will be on campus to check out Black Hills State
University during `Preview Day,' Friday, Jan. 28
at the David B. Miller Yellow Jacket Student
Union.

Students and their parents will have an
opportunity to visit with university faculty and
representatives about admission procedures,
scholarship programs, costs of attending college,
and housing options. Students will also visit
with university faculty in the student's area of
academic interest.

A panel discussion
featuring current BHSU students will be held so
new or prospective students can ask questions and
learn from the upperclassmen.

Financial aid
officials will be available to answer questions
about loans, scholarships, expenses and financial
aid forms.

Campus tours will be given to familiarize the
guests with the university.

Students planning to student
teach in the summer or fall 2000 should attend
one of three student teacher meetings.. The
meetings are Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m.,
Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 3:30 p.m. and Thursday,
Feb. 17 at 7 a.m. in the David B. Miller Student
Union Multipurpose room.

The Green and Gold
Booster Club and Spearfish chamber relations
committee at Black Hills State University will
host an appreciation night Saturday, Feb. 12 for
members of the Spearfish Chamber of Commerce
during the BHSU basketball games against Dakota
State University.

Chamber members are
encouraged to bring to the game the letter they
will receive with the February issue of the Fish
Wrapper. The letter will serve as a
complimentary game ticket for two people. As
guests of the Green and Gold Club and the chamber
relations committee, chamber members will be
treated to complimentary concessions in he hall
of fame room between the women's and men's

basketball games.
The women's game begins at 6 p.m. with the men's
game to follow at 8 p.m.

The Green and Gold
Club is a booster club that works to promote
Black Hills State University and provide
financial support to its athletic programs. The
BHSU/chamber relations committee promotes
collaboration and friendship between the
university and Spearfish chamber members.

Information about the Spearfish Chamber of
Commerce appreciation night is available by
contacting the BHSU Advancement Office at
642-6385.

For the first time,
a BHSU Undergraduate Writing Prize Competition
will be held at the university. The prizes are
being provided by the Deans' Council this year.
In future years the prizes are expected to be
endowed by donation.

The competition will be
based on a calendar year. Submissions are now
invited for essays written in spring 1999, summer
1999, and fall 1999 courses. Essays written for
courses at both the Spearfish and Ellsworth
campuses are eligible.

There are two competitions:
1) for essays written in English composition
courses (010, 101, and 102);
2) for essays written in other English,
humanities, philosophy, and Spanish (papers must
be written in English) courses.

At this time poetry and fiction are not
eligible for the competition, but creative
non-fiction essays are.

Submit five copies of the essay with the
following information clipped to a cover sheet:

Student's name

Essay title (which should also appear on
the first page of the essay itself)

Student's e-mail address

Student's address

Student's phone number

Course for which paper was written

Instructor's name

Only one essay per
student, per course is eligible. Therefore, the
student's best work must be selected for
submission. Students may win only one prize in
each category.

The student's name is to appear
nowhere other than on that cover sheet.

The deadline for entries for this year's
competition is 5 p.m., March 1, 2000. Winners
will be announced in mid-April with an awards
ceremony scheduled for late-April. Only winning
entries will be notified, and entries cannot be
returned. Prizes for each competition range from
$100 to $200 and will be awarded at a ceremony on
Monday, April 17.

Submit entries to the committee chair, David
A. Salomon, at 1200 University, Unit 9063 or
Jonas 103A. Contact Professor Salomon with any
questions.

Vice president Deatta Chapel called
the meeting to order. Minutes of the November
meeting were read and approved.

Marilyn Luscombe gave the treasurer's report.

Deatta Chapel welcomed the new council
members. New council officers will be elected in
January.

Candy Huddleston reported on the safety
committee meeting she attended. Several safety
and parking concerns were discussed. Myron
Sullivan reported on changes in parking. He also
indicated fire extinguisher classes will be held
for staff members.

Colleen Gustafson reported on the
strategic-planning committee. The committee is
going through the 1995 strategic plan.

The CSA social event originally scheduled
before Christmas was discussed. A chili feed for
all CSA

employees was set
for Friday, Jan. 21 prior to the basketball game.
Paulette Palladino will contact council members
concerning what to bring.

Susan Hemmingson
indicated that she will be glad to help the CSA
council with any purchasing procedure questions
in the future.

Fred Nelson reported on the SDSEO meeting he
recently attended. He discussed some bureau of
personnel proposed changes.

Jeanne Hanson from BHSU is currently on the
election ballot for the Personnel Management
Advisory Board (PMAB) at the state level.

In new business, the continuing members
thanked outgoing members for their help and
service throughout their CSA term. CSA council
president Colleen Gustafson thanked the council
for their cooperation this year.

The next CSA meeting was set for Jan. 18 (date
was delayed one week due to conflict with
registration) at 9 a.m. in the Little Dining
Room. Meeting adjourned.

The instructional
improvement committee (IIC) encourages, through
monetary grants, the application of existing
knowledge to specific teaching situations to
improve the quality of instruction at BHSU.

Any
full-time faculty member, full-time adjunct
faculty or other full-time staff member engaged
in student instruction may apply for grant funds
administered by the committee. Grant funding will
normally be available up to a maximum of $1,000
per project. Priority will be given to projects
that will have a broad-based, visible, continuing
impact on instruction across faculty members
and/or disciplines. Funds are available for
development of materials and methods to improve
teaching and learning, equipment to enhance
teaching and learning, travel to conferences or
workshops which enhance teaching and

learning, and
bringing consulting lecturers and teaching
specialists to campus to offer presentations to
and/or with faculty and teaching-support staff at
BHSU. Faculty members who apply for grants to
support travel to a conference or workshop are
limited to receiving no more than one grant every
three years.

Proposals for grant funding will
be reviewed by the IIC on a monthly basis. The
deadline for submission will be the last Friday
of each month; a decision will be made as soon as
practical on each proposal. Ten copies of the
proposals should be submitted to the Grants and
Special Projects Office, Woodburn 220, or to the
chair of the committee, Sharon Strand. Proposals
will consist of proposal and budget outlines
following the specified format available at the
grants and special projects web page.

The faculty-research
committee has funds available for the current
fiscal year. Write a short (about three-page)
proposal. Proposal forms are available at the
academic affairs office. Deadline is Jan. 31.

It
is anticipated that successful applicants will
request support for faculty release time,
research equipment, travel to research sites,
research support for the production of creative
work. Preference is given to new

applicants
particularly in the areas of education, business,
social sciences and humanities.Two three-hour
release times are available for fall 2000 and
spring of 2001.

Funds for two three-hour
release times are available for the spring and
fall 2000 semesters. You can apply now. The
research committee will not provide salary. The
committee may approve payment to student or
non-student research assistants. Mail ten copies
of your proposal to unit 9550.

Below are the
program materials received Jan. 13-Jan. 26 in the
grants office, Woodburn 220. For copies of the
information, contact our office at 642-6627 or
e-mail requests to us at . Fellowship information
will also be posted on the Student Union bulletin
board near the information desk.

Leadership Grants - National
Foundation for the Improvement of
Education. Purpose: To underwrite
professional development opportunities
for teachers, education-support
personnel, and higher-education faculty
and staff to prepare them for collegial
leadership in the spirit of Teachers Take
Charge of Their Learning. Deadline: March
1 and Oct. 15. NFIE awards grants of
$1,000 to individuals to engage in
professional development activities that
address the needs of the students they
serve.

New
Faculty Profile

by Dawn Taggart, media relations student
intern

Don Miller

“Intrinsic motivation,” said Donald K. Miller,
“is my teaching style. They do it because of the excitement
of learning.”

Miller feels we are put on this planet to learn, and he is
a part of that process. He commented, “Not a day goes by
without [my] learning something for or by my students. I have
become more interested in inspiring individual people with
integrity and sincerity...”

Miller joined the Black Hills State music department this
January, and was drawn to Black Hills State because of the
possibilities in the music department and strong community
support for musicians. Miller said of his career choice, “It
kind of chose me; I was teaching music and planning to go to
law school, then I saw the fire in their eyes.”

Miller finds his ensemble classes and music listening
classes rewarding, and loves any classes where he gets to
conduct music. He feels that music has changed over the years
by becoming less competitive. “It is seen more as a
performance of art rather than competition,” he said.

For Miller, technology is beneficial in many ways,
including more efficiency in paper work, easier communication
with other performers, and faster and more efficient
publication. He commented, “computers have developed their
own musical language, but they have not changed my style a
bit. Not because it's not available or important, just that
one to one communication cannot be enhanced through
technology, and there's no way technology can make me a better
conductor.”

Miller earned several degrees including:
bachelor of music education in 1982 from
Southwestern Oklahoma State University; bachelor
of arts in music, 1983, also from Oklahoma State;
master of music education, 1987, Wichita State
University; and is currently working on his
dissertation for a doctor of music arts at the
University of Iowa in Iowa City.

His job experience includes: co-director of jazz band and a
student teacher at Elk City High School in Elk City, Okla.,
1981-1982; director of bands and elementary music at Snyder
Public Schools in Snyder, Okla., 1982-1985; W.S.U. graduate
assistantship – director of elementary bands at Church of
the Magdalen School in Wichita, Kan., 1985-1986; director of
instrumental music – band and orchestra at Coleman Junior
High School in Wichita, Kan., 1986-1989; director of bands,
instrumental music coordinator, conductor and music director
of Southwest Symphony – community symphony of Southwest
Kansas, and was instructor of music history, music
appreciation, instrumental music methods and instrumental
conducting for Seward County Community College from 1989 to
1995; visiting instructor of instrumental music methods at Coe
College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1997; and graduate assistant,
Hawkeye Marching Band and Concert Bands, and conductor of the
university band at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa,
1995-1997.

The position Miller held at the time of
accepting employment at Black Hills State was at
the University of Missouri in Rolla, Mo. as
director of bands and orchestra, conductor of
musical productions, and instructor of music
theory.

Miller has done extensive work in the area of
professional development, including various
workshops, symposiums, and private studies. He
has achieved many awards and distinctions,
including Who's Who Among American Colleges and
Universities, the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Orpheus
Award, and the Tau Beta Sigma Marching Band
Achievement Award, among many others.

Miller enjoys being involved with the
community where he lives, and has many
professional affiliations, including: Conductor's
Guild, Music Educator's National Conference,
Missouri Music Educator's Association, National
Band Association, College Band Directors National
Association, and World Association of Symphonic
Bands and Ensembles.

Miller said of his plans for the future, “[I want] to
continue growing as a musician, to inspire my students to be
the best musicians within their capability, and to continue to
look for opportunities for [these] musicians to perform.”

Setting thoughts of the future aside, though,
Miller's busy schedule still allows him to invest
a bit of himself into other activities he enjoys
such as running, cooking, his family, and playing
with his pet dog named Chuck.